The Grand Rapids Public Museum will soon undergo a $64 million expansion that will include access to the Grand River.
Grand Rapids Public Museum officials presented the plans to the City Commission last week, and the $64 million expansion would include more exhibit space, a ground floor food court, but the major addition would be an outdoor courtyard and cafeteria that would give visitors the ability to access the Grand River.
Dale Robertson, is GRPM’s president and CEO.
“This investment now, I would argue is a 25 to 30-year investment,” Robertson said. “(We) believe we will be able to handle the crowds and handle the programs for many years to come.”
It’s all part of the city of Grand Rapids ultimate goal, which is to reimagine the relationship between the downtown corridor and Grand River, with a number of projects in the works, including a 7.5-mile river trail that eventually will flank both sides of the Grand River from Riverside Park to the north and Millennium Park to the south, a new outdoor amphitheater over-looking the water, and removing the dams put in place during the logging era, which, once removed, will bring the rapids back, and restore the Grand River to its natural state.